


the truth about the moon

by ferrisbuellers



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28412637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferrisbuellers/pseuds/ferrisbuellers
Summary: Ricky and Nini reminisce on one more memory from their childhood.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	the truth about the moon

**Author's Note:**

> this my first time writing for hsmtmts, so... yeah. but, this takes place after episode 8 and it's inspired by a cut song from newsies called "the truth about the moon". i hope you guys enjoy!

After almost kissing Ricky at the El Rey Theater, Nini is left with a million thoughts.

Things were finally going well for Ricky and Nini. Things weren’t tense or awkward anymore. It was getting easier to work with Ricky, and her relationship with Ricky was getting easier. Sure, it’s still not perfect or what it once was, but it was reaching a point where it was good. But now, Nini’s scared they might have messed that up.

She’s rather quiet at dinner. When she’s asked about school, she gives her moms the standard answer of everything’s fine. When she’s asked about the play, she tells them how there was a fire that ruined the theater and that they were planning on moving the show to the El Rey, but Miss Jenn decided that the show should still go on at East High. She doesn’t tell them that she almost kissed Ricky.

She can’t think straight when she sits down to her homework. The math problems in the textbook don’t make much sense. She has to go over her notes multiple times just to try and make sense of everything.

At some point, she gets frustrated because math is supposed to make sense. Math is numbers, and numbers make sense to her. Math is supposed to be clear and simple. Math is  _ not _ supposed to be like her relationship with Ricky, confusing and complicated.

After miraculously making it through her math without crying, Nini moves onto history. She has a chapter to read and very little energy left, but she’s determined to power through. Just like math, she’s having trouble absorbing the information. It  _ should _ make sense, but it’s not.

She rubs her eyes when she’s halfway through the chapter. Then, she gets a text on her phone. When she sees who it’s from, her heart skips a beat.

**_ricky:_ ** _ i’m in your backyard _

She blinks a few times and rereads the text to make sure her eyes aren’t playing some trick on her. She gets up and looks out her window. Sure enough, Ricky is there.

She cautiously heads downstairs and to the backyard. When he sees her, he gives her a wary smile.

“It’s late,” Nini says.

“Yeah, I know,” Ricky answers. “I just need to talk, and it’s something that needs to be talked about in person.”

She nods, leaning against a column on her porch. “Sure. What’s up?”

“I know things between us have been tense lately,” he starts, “and I just wanted to say I’m sorry for everything. I never meant to make you upset or mad. I didn’t mean to cause trouble, I swear. I just never thought this thing through.”

Nini will be the first to admit that she was upset when Ricky showed up for the audition and got the part of Troy. He never liked theatre, so his audition caught her by surprise. When he didn’t put any effort into the show at the beginning, she got mad and thought that he didn’t deserve it.

But then, he started caring and putting in the effort. It showed when she saw him do the dance number for Carlos in the library. It showed when he memorized his lines. It showed when he sang with her in rehearsals.

So, yeah, she was mad, but not anymore.

“Well, I’m sorry, too,” she says. “I know that I was rude and aggressive at the beginning, and it wasn't fair for me to act like that. I should’ve handled the situation better.”

He nods. “You were upset, so—”

“That doesn’t mean what I did was right.” She shakes her head. “It wasn’t, and I’m sorry.”

“Well, I accept your apology.”

“And, I accept yours.”

Though his face is only lit up by the Moon, Nini can see Ricky smile for a brief second. It’s small and the type of smile that you’ll miss if you blink.

“So, we’re good?” he asks.

She smiles and nods. “We’re good.”

“I better get going,” he says. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

He starts to walk, his skateboard in hand. He stops in his tracks and turns around. “Oh, one more thing.”

She raises a brow. “What?”

“You know how we were talking earlier at the El Rey? About childhood memories?” She nods. “On my way here, I saw the Moon and another memory came to me.”

“Oh, really? What?”

He takes a few steps closer, stopping at the steps of the porch. “Do you remember when I told you that the Moon was bigger in the desert at the start of seventh grade? It was right when we got back from summer vacation.”

The memory is coming back to her. She does remember. Ricky went on a trip with his parents to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. He said that it was beautiful. He also said that the Moon was bigger over there, something seventh grade Nini knew wasn’t true.

She nods. “I told you that the Moon is the same size no matter where you are.”

“Yeah, and you also said that the Moon’s Latin name is luna.”

She hums. “Yeah, I remember that.”

“You were smart and you taught me a lot back then, Nini,” he says. Quickly, he adds, “You still are smart, by the way. I’m just saying that for a seventh grader, you knew a lot.”

The corners of her mouth turn up in a smile as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, thank you.” She pauses. “The fact of the matter was that the Moon doesn’t change size. It’s the same size no matter where you are.”

“I know,” he replies. “You’ve always liked facts, huh?”

“Well, now, I sound boring.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “No, I mean that you’ve always liked it when things make sense.”

He’s right. She does like it when things are clear and straightforward. She doesn’t like playing guessing games. She didn’t like how things got confusing between her and Ricky over the summer. She didn’t like the beginning of the year where things were complicated. No matter how hard she tried, nothing made sense.

Things are a little more clear now.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” she agrees.

Ricky gives her a smile and Nini can’t help but smile back. She’s always liked his smile.

“You better get going,” she says.

“Oh, yeah, right,” he replies, nodding. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Neens.”

“Goodnight, Ricky.”

Nini watches him leave her backyard and she doesn’t move until she can hear the sound of his skateboard. She lets out a sigh as a new fact occurs to her. It’s one that she’s been avoiding, but at this point, it seems inevitable.

She’s not completely over Ricky Bowen.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed this! feel free to talk to me on tumblr. my tumblr is @jimpomatters


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